Faux Brick Fireplace

by Amy MingsJune 01, 2018

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes styling a room doesn't come naturally. I'll start with something and often times re-work it a few times until the space finally feels right. Anyone else relate?

When we moved into our new house the "den" was the last room to be finished. We painted the walls Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams and we had planned all along to put the mantel we found on my husband's family farm in that space. In our previous home we used the mantel to create a "faux fireplace" and loved it.

The mantel was originally an off-white color and it just didn't feel like it went in our new space. I also felt like the large dark mirror competed with the TV and the room just felt heavy.

I love using chalk paint for a quick and inexpensive change and decided on a whim to paint the mantel french grey. For under $12 and in about 10 minutes I was able to give the mantel an entire new look. While I loved the new contrast of the color, I still wasn't feeling how bare the mantel looked though. We considered building a frame for the mantel for a more authentic look, but with all our other projects going on we didn't want to waste the time or money.

Brooke on Nesting with Grace is always using wallpaper to add texture to a room and around the time I was looking for a quick fix she shared about Target's temporary wallpaper that is applied like a sticker. This was the perfect solution - easy, inexpensive and can always be removed.

For our faux mantel, I selected the textured brick peel & stick wallpaper in white. When I opened the package, I was surprised how real the texture felt.

Shopping Tip: Occasionally the wallpaper goes on sale. I lucked out and was able to purchase mine when it was $10 off. I reserved online and simply picked up at my local Target's customer service desk.

Here's a view of the application process. This was my first time doing wallpaper of any kind so I'm sure it took me longer than most, but overall it was easy to apply. The hardest part was lining up the faux bricks.

To apply the wallpaper, I used the following:

Scissors - to cut the wallpaper to size

Utility knife - to cut around our outlet

Credit card - to smooth the sections as I went

I love the new look of our faux mantel and how well it fits in our space now.

As you can see, I also removed the large mirror to lighten the space a bit.

Overall, the chalk paint and wallpaper helped me achieve the look I was going for inexpensively and were DIY's I could do myself!

I would love to hear your thoughts below and if you have tried the peel and stick wallpaper before.

As always, thanks for stopping by and following along on our renovation journey.